What does an office in this extremely left-leaning college town – as well as those in other “Campus and Careers” communities – have to do with the well-known Bush aide? Plenty.

In 2000 and particularly 2004, Bush won the White House by bringing
out the Republican base – driving up votes from reliably Republican
areas.

Going into the 2008 race, most thought “the base” strategy was over.
Bush’s low approval numbers meant that the Republican nominee, whoever
he was, would have to run more to the center to pick up moderate voters
who had turned against the president.

But on the other side of the ideological street, the Democrats are
not in such a bind, and the Obama campaign knows it. Thus, even as the
Illinois senator plays to the middle (and the middle class) in speeches
and proposals, he is devoting more effort to bringing out his base. And
if this town is any kind of example, it’s working.

Playing a GOTV strategy is hardly a Rovian innovation, however. The
reason there are campaign offices in university towns in Michigan is
because MI is (was) a swing state, and therefore every vote counts, since the candidate who wins the plurality of votes statewide will get all its electoral votes. This is campaign strategy 101, not some rare Rovian innovation.

A true Rovian strategy would be to atttack your opponents’
strengths, the classic example being how the Republicans and the Swift Boat veteran group went after John Kerry for his
military record and making light of his service and purple heart.
In the present campaign, McCain tried this Rovian approach with his short-lived ad series poking fun at Obama’s
celebrity. However, for the most part, McCain has focused on Obama’s perceived and alleged weaknesses (inexperience, character, etc) rather than strengths.

Obama hasn’t really followed the Rove game plan either, focusing more on critiquing McCain’s policies and extolling his own biography. McCain’s perceived strength is primarily his foreign policy judgement, and Obama has critiqued him on that score, pointing out that McCain’s support of the Iraq war was a diversion from the true terror threat in Afghanistan. This is more of discussion of policy differences, however, than an outright attack in Rovian fashion. If anything, McCain’s supposed advantage on foreign policy was undermined more by the fact that Obama shared the debate stage with him and was able to discuss it in articulate and knowledgeable fashion, holding his own. If Obama were truly outmatched, it would have been obvious. In one sense, McCain Roved himself.

It is easy to sound knowledgable when you have been taught by the experts on what to say.It works well especially when you have a talent like articulation, which Obama do have. It can even fool very intelligent people that are looking for what they think is different. It maybe different, but you may not like the difference when you get it.

Proof denies faith
On Reddit, someone posted the following question: "What convinces you that the Quran is the literal Word of God?" I think this is precisely the wrong question.
The book/movie Life of Pi directly

Proud to be American, proud to be MuslimThis is a guest post by Safiya Dahodwala.
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin TUS graced the land of America for the first time as the 53rd Dai (spiritual leader) of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community. It has been nearly a decade since his predecessor, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin bestowed his bountiful bl

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The Price of ExtremismThis is a guest post by Durriya Badani.
The execution style murder of three young North Carolina students, two of whom were hijab wearing Muslim women, raises questions regarding the rise of Islamaphobia in the United States in the form of hate crimes. Some will argue that the motive for the inc

About City of Brass

City of Brass by Aziz Poonawalla approaches issues from the perspective of a Muslim of the West. Aziz, a member of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community, has been blogging since early 2003 and co-founded the Brass Crescent Awards for the muslim blogsphere.